


found her diary underneath a tree (and started reading about me)

by somcthingwitty



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Attempt at Humor, CEO Lena Luthor, Deception, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Journalist Kara Danvers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-04-05 21:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19049182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somcthingwitty/pseuds/somcthingwitty
Summary: “Do you want the promotion?”“I-yes, of course, I do.”“Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get that promotion?”“… Um, sure.”“You don’t sound sure.”“I am sure!”“Okay. All you have to do is date Lena Luthor, and you’ll get the promotion.”“Oh,” a pause, then a relieved, bordering manic, laugh. “Wow, I thought it was going to be something hard. Yeah, sure, I’ll date Lena Lutho—”Kara pauses. Snapper grins like fucking smug idiot.“Lena Luthor?!”orKara Danvers is a journalist, who wants that promotion, and Lena Luthor is a misunderstood woman, who just wants to live a good life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Good Lord. Am I actually writing a story? I'm honestly not the best in writing. I literally don't have any prior experience BUT HERE WE ARE.
> 
> You don't know how much I love the Fake Dating trope so... here's one. Also the title is from Bread's Diary.
> 
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine! Any similarities with other fan works are coincidences. Please contact me if you see any!
> 
> Also @ me on tumblr: somcthingwitty

“Do you want the promotion?”

“I-yes, of course, I do.”

“Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get that promotion?”

“… Um, sure.”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“I am sure!”

“Okay. All you have to do is date Lena Luthor, and you’ll get the promotion.”

“Oh,” a pause, then a relieved, bordering manic, laugh. “Wow, I thought it was going to be something hard. Yeah, sure, I’ll date Lena Lutho—”

Kara pauses. Snapper grins like fucking smug idiot.

“Lena Luthor?!”

 

* * *

 

 

Okay, so let’s go back to the beginning, shall we?

The reporter sitting by her desk in an incredibly busy bull pen is Kara Danvers. Wait, no, she isn’t a reporter. Not _yet_ , no, but she’s getting there. Three more fluff pieces and a good ol’ editing task for her extremely busy chief editor, and Kara’s sure that she’ll finally get the chance to move up from a writer, who writes about the new ice cream parlor that everyone’s going crazy about in national city or the national concern over a puppy who got stuck in the bush, to a full-fledged reporter who actually writes about, you know, important stuff.

Not that poor, trapped puppies aren’t important.

Moving on. Kara Danvers is twenty-six years old, turning twenty-seven in two weeks, and… that’s actually terrifying for her.

It’s not so much that growing older terrifies her. Of course, not. That actually means that she’s one step farther away from the caring arms of her sister – though she’d insist it’s more overly-protective than caring.

The thing that terrifies her about turning twenty-seven is reaching that age and not yet getting a promotion.

See, she has a notebook, and in that notebook, she wrote the goals she’d like to achieve once she’s a working adult.

In that notebook, she wrote: “When I turn twenty-seven, I will be a reporter and I will write about the city’s biggest criminal.”

Of course, as a young child, she didn’t really know who the city’s biggest criminal is. Still don’t, actually, but she knows that some person out there actually holds that title, and she’s very much determined to write about whoever that criminal is before or when she turns twenty-five.

But goodness gracious, she’s two weeks away from turning twenty-five and she’s still a journalist who writes about new ice cream parlors and trapped puppies and…

_Right._

Approximately ten steps away from her is another woman called Lady. Yes, that is actually her name. She’s not a writer. She’s more of a tech girl and up to this day, no one really knows why she’s staying in the midst of the writers instead of being in one room with the tech guys, but… she’s there, anyway. She’s a good person. Always keeps to her own during work but always makes sure to let her presence be known to everyone during out-of-work activities because _she must establish her dominance among the walking giants_.

She’s a small genius, she’d say, and to a certain degree, that is true.

Thing is, like Kara Danvers, she’s twenty-six years old and she’s been in that position ever since she began working there. Though, unlike Kara Danvers, she’s quite satisfied with what she has. The pay is good. The benefits are good. Nobody steals her coffee and nobody spills their coffee on her desk – except for Kara during her first year, but everything’s been forgiven and forgotten.

So, when Snapper call them both to his office on a dull, Tuesday morning, they’re both shocked and terrified.

Kara, already thinking of so many reasons why she’s being called---

Maybe a promotion? An important assignment? An _even_ more important assignment?

As for Lady…

_Oh, God, I’m getting fired._

They look at each other for a moment before wordlessly gathering their respective notebooks and heading over to Snapper’s office.

“Took you long enough,” Snapper gruffs when Kara lets the glass door close on its own, wincing when the metal lock scrapes against the metal frame beneath. “Right. I obviously called you here for a reason.”

Lady breathes out heavily and shakily next to Kara, and the latter steals a glance at her, blinking sympathetically. “Are you okay-”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Lady, calm down. You’re not here to get fired.”

“Oh,” Lady squeaks and visibly relaxes. “Okay. Good, good! That’s good. I’m really gla-”

Snapper sighs and waves a dismissive hand. “ _Anyway_ , you, Kara Danvers, ears to me.”

Kara does that, straightening up and clutching her notebook closely to her chest. “Listening.”

“I remember, when I first interviewed you, you said you wanted to be a reporter.”

“That… that would be correct,” Kara stammers. “Yes.”

“And you said you wanted to be a reporter by the time you’re twenty-seven, correct?”

“C-Correct, sir.”

“And you’re turning twenty-seven in two weeks, correct?”

Unless Snapper is asking Lady and not Kara, then, “Yes, that’s correct, sir.”

“So, what if I give you a chance to be a reporter before you turn twenty-seven?”

Hold. _Up_.

“S-Sir, I--, _really?”_ Kara whispers in disbelief.

Snapper grumbles, leaning back against his chair. “Of course, it’s not going to be easy. I’ll need you to do something first before getting promoted. Not everything comes out of nothing, don’t you agree?”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

“Good,” Snapper nods as he leans over his desk, eyes narrowed. “Do you want the promotion?”

“I-yes, of course, I do.”

“Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get that promotion?”

“… Um, sure.”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“I am sure!”

“Okay. All you have to do is date Lena Luthor, and you’ll get the promotion.”

“Oh,” a pause, then a relieved, bordering manic, laugh. “Wow, I thought it was going to be something hard. Yeah, sure, I’ll date Lena Lutho—”

Kara pauses. Snapper grins like fucking smug idiot.

“Lena Luthor?!”

“Uhm,” Lady interjects softly. “Why exactly am I here—”

“You!” Snapper snaps and points at Lady, who squeaks and stands frigidly in her spot. “You will be Kara’s companion for this assignment. Any technical support she needs, you will provide. You will create a website exclusive for this assignment, and you will make it a hell of a good one, do you understand?”

Yes, the technical part, she understands, but not everything. Not _everything_ , but she nods anyway with another squeak. “Of course.”

Kara seems to snap out of it at that moment and laughs softly while shaking her head. “Wait, wait, let me just clarify, sir.” She licks her lips and chuckles in disbelief. “Why exactly am I dating Lena Luthor to get promoted?”

Snapper deadpans. “You know who Lena Luthor is, right?”

“Um, yes.”

“And you know how people see her? You know how they perceive her as a person?”

“She’s a young CEO, untouchable, unreachable, totally detached from the world, some would say she only interacts with people of her own kind—”

“Right, yes,” Snapper dismisses the rambling. “Exactly. Everything’s negative about her. Don’t you think it’s high time people find out she’s just as human as we are?”

Kara frowns. “And… we do that through me dating her?”

“Well,” Snapper shrugs. “You don’t really have to _date_ her, you know? Like I said, it’s an assignment and you have a mission to do. You must write about the detached CEO and make her human to the eyes of the people, and what other thing do people die for other than the topic of love?”

A pause. “… I don’t know if this is legal.”

“It isn’t, but it’s also technically not illegal for a person to date another person. Just think of it as you writing a diary about what it’s like to date Lena Luthor—except, this diary isn’t as private as you’d like it to be. After five months, the complete piece will be posted online and people will think of Luthor differently. It’ll humble her reputation, basically, and people will love her for being _soft_ with a, sorry for the lack of better term, _peasant_ like you.”

Kara doesn’t feel good about this. She doesn’t like it.

But god, it’s a promotion.

“And, of course, the CEO will find out, and I’m very sure she’ll be very thankful for what we did. That’d mean good relations and more connections, Kara.”

“What if she finds out that Kara’s just using her for that assignment?” Lady asks, finally finding her voice.

Yes, Kara thinks. What if?

Snapper seems thoughtful for a moment, but then shrugs after a minute, “Well, find a way for her not to go batshit crazy on you.”

 

.

.

.

“Can you believe this?”

No, Lady, I can’t.

“Because I can’t. Honestly.”

 _That’s what I said_.

“This is ridiculous?!”

 _True_.

“Like, what if she finds out? We’ll be dead! _Dead, Kara!”_

Kara sighs as she looks up at Lady as she paces back and forth in front of her. Kara never really saw her as a friend before. Maybe an acquaintance? A person she doesn’t totally hate at work? But yeah, no one she really spends lunch with until today.

Today, Lady thought it’s a good idea to hang out and share each other’s worries over their new assignment. Kara doesn’t blame her for worrying over the implications of what they’re about to do for the sake of a freaking promotion.

“Snapper didn’t even promise me a promotion!” Lady hisses.

As if on cue, Lady’s phone rings and they both look at it as if it is an alien device that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. On the fourth, obnoxious ring, Lady finally picks up the call.

“Hello?”

…

“Oh.”

Kara blinks when she pulls the phone away from her ear, cheeks flushing red. “Um, that was Snapper. Said he’ll give me a promotion, too.”

Kara rolls her eyes at that. “He’s acting so suspicious.”

“Right?!” Lady screeches. “Plus, can you believe him? Making you date Lena Luthor? _Using_ love and trust to gain something for CATCO? I swear to God, men and their stupid ideas-” Lady groans and throws her hands to the air, which results to her tossing her phone, too. “Oh, shit-”

“Don’t let him hear you that. You know Snapper has ears everywhere.” Kara says as she begins to gather her trash. Recyclable materials on the left, no-hope materials to the right. She walks over to the nearest bins and disposes them with a sigh, only to squeak and jump in place when Lady appears by her side out of nowhere.

“We have to be careful. You realize this, right?”

Yes, ask the person, who’s about to get yeeted into the space where all deception will happen in the near future, a question that with an already obvious answer.

“I know,” Kara nods solemnly. “To be honest, I’m not sure. A part of me is scared to do this, you know? This is … _lying_. This is betraying someone and—just—I hate lying.” She sighs as she looks down at her fiddling fingers, shaking her head. “But… I really want that promotion. God, I don’t know what to do.”

Silence visits them like an old friend, engulfing them and allowing them to think to themselves for a second or two.

Eventually, Lady breaks the silence and breathes out heavily, determined. “We can do this. We can—we can do that assignment. We can write up that piece. We don’t have to lie to Lena Luthor, right? Just—just tell her, maybe, after a month after dating her, maybe? Just explain to her that it’s a man’s evil plan and you were, you know, bribed or… something.”

“Yeah, that sounds all nice and easy, but have you read stories about one person lying to another, and then the latter eventually finding out? It doesn’t always end nicely. Trust me,” Kara grumbles. “I’ve read too much for a lifetime; I already know how this will go. It’s like my life just turned into a fucking fanfiction.”

“A fan… what?”

Kara blinks. “Nothing.”

.

.

.

Kara goes home that night to a quiet apartment. Not that she expected something else. It’s just that, sometimes, her sister drops by with her wife and the apartment is full of life and laughter and just—too much noise, a very welcomed noise.

Tonight, it’s quiet and still, and there’s just the humming of the fridge as it freezes whatever flavor of ice cream Kara has decided to stuff in it the previous night.

Tonight, it’s just Kara on her couch, scrolling through numbers of websites with Lena Luthor as their feature to get a head start on things she needs to know about the young CEO.

So far, what she’s found are things she already knows.

Lena Luthor is a prodigy, to put it simply. She has two PhD’s, more than twenty published research articles that have something to do with finding the cure for cancer, and an extremely, incredibly, astoundingly _gorgeous_ face.

Kara huffs. Of course, Lena Luthor is gorgeous. What else would you expect from an heiress, honestly? It’s as if rich people are born to have everything. Kara’s lucky to have her abs; bet Lena Luthor doesn’t have those.

Not that it’s a bad thing.

 Lena Luthor does look soft underneath the mask of a stoic and ruthless businesswoman…

She digresses.

She shakes her head and decides that she’s done enough research. She saves everything she gathered that night in a document and pushes her laptop aside.

She has a tub of ice cream to target right now.

.

.

.

She meets with Lady a week later at a cafe. Exactly a week _before_ she turns twenty-seven.

“How sad is it that people are starting to lose interest in _actual_ books?” Lady rants while waiting in line. Kara notes in amusement how the shorter woman’s hand are kept deep inside her jacket to keep her from flailing about. “Like, don’t they understand? Just how beautiful an experience it is to flip pages and just— you get my point, right? And when books get old? The smell?”

Kara agrees wholeheartedly, even nods her head exaggeratedly as she moves one step closer to the counter.

“I agree, Lady,” she says. “God, people these days. _Horrible_.”

Lady grunts, realizing Kara’s nonchalance about the matter. “I hate you.”

Kara huffs. “I just agreed with you!”

“You’re being sarcastic with it.”

“I’ll have you know-”

“I’ll have Keiran’s usual. To go.”

Kara and Lady turn towards the source of the interruption. Kara stares on, dumbfounded.

Lady, on the other hand…

“Um, excuse me? There’s a line.”

Kara reaches out and grabs Lady’s elbow, pulling her back with a soft hiss. “Lady…”

The stranger doesn’t seem to hear them, just remained facing the counter as if there isn’t a pint-sized ball of raging energy preparing to explode behind her back in seconds.

Lady scoffs. “The nerve-”

“Lady, just let it go.”

“No!” Lady tsks and clears her throat as she taps her fingers on the tall stranger’s shoulder. “ _Excuse me._ ”

Kara groans inwardly.

The stranger, a tall redhead with an almost mean scowl, if not for the subtle hint of an amused smile at the corner of her lips, turns and looks straight into Kara’s eyes. Now, if Kara is to pretend that she isn’t Lady’s friend (yes, they’ve become friends over text messages), she’ll laugh it off and point down at the angry brunette standing between them, but she is and all she could do is wait for Lady to scream about the injustice of tall people discriminating her height.

“ _I’m down here,_ ” Lady bristles. “And don’t even speak about me being short because I am _not_ that short. That’s beside the point, though. There is a line!”

The redhead sighs softly. “Yes, indeed, and if you weren’t so busy ranting about books and their _nasty_ smell, this line wouldn’t be here anymore.”

 _She has a point,_ Kara thinks sheepishly.

Lady scoffs indignantly. “You couldn’t have just called our attention so we could move? Because, you know, that’d be the _more_ respectful thing to do?”

“Lady,” Kara hisses again. “Let it go.”

“And waste even more time?” The redhead snorts softly. “Relax, lovely. I’ve given my order. The people behind that counter already know what I need. I’ll be out of your hair in a minute or two.”

As if on cue, an _Order for Kieran!_ is heard at the other side of the counter, and the redhead turns to claim it with a slight flip of her hair. The smile is still present on her lips. Kara almost reaches out and congratulates her for surviving Lady’s rage.

“My name’s Lady!”

Kara plants her face on the palm of her hands.

The redhead snorts again. “Good to know.”

.

.

.

“Well, your city is proving to be very interesting, Kieran.”

The addressed woman merely hums in her seat, never taking her eyes away from her laptop’s screen. “Why do you say that?”

“Well,” the other woman says as she places a paper bag full of food on Kieran’s desk, uncaring about the pertinent papers clearly sprawled all over the surface. “Little people have so much rage in them, I would say.”

Kieran looks up with a raised eyebrow. “What?”

“Two days, Kieran,” the other woman laughs, to which Kieran frowns at. “Two days and I’ve already encountered a spitfire in National City.”

“I’m sure they turned into a spitfire because you deserved it, Cassandra.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Cassandra shrugs and flips her red locks to the side. “They were busy being talkative kids.”

“Aren’t you one of those talkative kids, Cassie?”

“Don’t call me that, Kieran.”

“Consider it a revenge,” the other woman shrugs. “I did tell you to stop calling me by my middle name and _start_ calling me by my first.”

“Fine,” Cassandra sighs. “Lena, can we please eat now because I’m starving.”

Lena, who finally got what she wants, lets go of her computer mouse and reaches out for her own share of salad.

“I wouldn’t say no to lunch right now.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara Danvers meets someone.
> 
> Someone loves Kara Danvers so much.
> 
> Lady is helpful. As always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am again with another chapter! Thank you so much for waiting. I hope you enjoy it!

Babysitting is fun. Babysitting is fun. Kara has learned to convince herself that, yes, babysitting is fun. Babies are cute. Babies are clueless creatures who cry for food or sleep or a change of diapers. Babies look at you like you’re a snake with two heads on your shoulders. That’s how new and wonderful the word is for them.

So, babies are cute and babies are fun to take care of. Even when they’re vomiting all over your favorite shirt --- Kara is sure that babies are fun.

They’re especially fun when she’s trying to disassociate herself from her work. Don’t get her wrong. She’s all in for that promotion, but she’d like to think that she’s not _that_ hungry for a promotion to mess with someone’s feelings like that.

And yet, there she is, spending her day off with her niece instead of marching to Snapper’s office and telling him how bad of an idea it is to mess with people’s trust.

Lena Luthor’s trust, of all people.

“Baaabaaaa.”

“Are you a sheep now?”

Kara sighs for the hundredth time while wiping her vomit-scented shirt in the middle of a nature-scented park. She should have known that this would happen at one point. She should have brought an extra shirt, really. National City’s park boasts of clean bathrooms where people can do their business without feeling like dirt personified inside a room painted with grime and... whatever other substances can be found in unsanitary bathrooms.

“Buh...”

Kara hums in response to her niece's ever intelligent reply. Much as she wants to resent the eight-month-old baby for ruining her favorite shirt, she knows it’d be very unreasonable of her to do so.

See, Ruby is adorable. Very adorable and very smart. She knows how to flutter her eyelashes when she’s told to show her beautiful eyes. She scrunches her nose when you mention her least favorite and most hated food: fish. She hasn’t tried it yet, no, but she doesn’t like it anyway. She bounces up and down when someone starts beatboxing.

Very adorable, very smart, and very talented.

There’s no reason to resent Ruby, but Kara thinks she can do better in the behavioral department.

Then again, she’s just a _baby_.

“All right,” Kara disposes the disgusting tissue paper into the nearest bin and turns to her niece, who is happily munching away on her peanut butter biscuit while her aunt is dying from the stench of her new fabric conditioner. “Come here, you little demon. I’m sure you got some on your shirt, too.”

Ruby agrees with her quietly, but knowing her niece, of course, she emphasizes her agreement in a different way if she’s not able to do using her mouth.

Ruby grins at her – _adorable_ – and then slaps her peanut butter-covered palm against her cheek. Just, smack dab right there on her cheek. Above the thinnest layer of her daily makeup, is a freaking handprint of peanut butter hand on her cheek.

 _God, help me_.

“Okay, honey. I think it’s high time we give you a bath, instead. No amount of wet wipes will save us from your little hands.” Despite her exhaustion, she still makes her niece giggle by kissing her chubby cheek – something she’ll never get tired of doing until the little demon is old enough to complain about her being all chummy.

Now, here’s a new mission she has for the day: put away everything without losing sight of her niece. That’s usually easy to accomplish most of the time. Let Ruby sit on her foot while she’s putting things back in her bag, turn back when the weight of her niece disappears, then continue working again.

Usually, she’s able to do that without missing a beat – but then her phone buzzes and she considers it a merciful break from avoiding a gooey mess on one particular spot of the blanket.

**_LENA LUTHOR SPOTTED WITH UNFAMILIAR WOMAN AT NATIONAL CITY PARK_ **

_Huh._ So, CEOs do take breaks as well in the middle of their busy lives with _unfamiliar_ women by their side. And while taking quiet walks at parks, of course, they look gorgeous even in a simple, white shirt and pressed dress pants. How curious is it to see Lena Luthor in such a laidback outfit while the _unfamiliar_ woman next to her is wearing something that’s more appropriate for a five-star restaurant?

So — that’s one trivia she can include later on in her article. Make Lena Luthor a little more human by writing about how she prefers simple outfits when going on a walk.

She keeps the information at the back of her head and goes back to keeping all her things inside her bag, shifting away from her original spot to let her blood circulation resume.

And then, she realizes that doing so should have made her feel _something_ on her foot.

But she didn’t.

Snapping her head to the side, Kara feels her skin crawl at the lack of a little bundle of peanut butter-eating joy sitting on her foot.

“Oh, my God.”

That’s funny. One moment, Ruby is there and now, she’s not.

Like magic.

 _That is funny_.

Kara bursts out in laughter – just one, loud burst of ungodly laughter – and then she’s looking around frantically because, _oh my god, I just lost my niece._

Alex will kill her.

“Ruby!”

Okay, okay, calm down the nerves. No need to call 911. _Yet._ She’s an ten-month-old baby. All she can do is crawl. Yes, crawl away very quickly from her and disappear like a freaking bubble. Kara wonders if her niece is secretly a mutant with the superhuman ability to crawl at a hundred miles per hour.

That wouldn’t be impossible. Most will argue, but where Ruby is concerned? Yeah, that’s definitely possible.

_Oh, God, I lost my niece._

“Ruby!” She stands and looks around frantically, gluing her gaze on every single slightly, bald baby head her eyes can spot. Ruby is ten months old turning nine next month. She already recognizes her name. She’s a smart cookie. She’ll come. Like a puppy – no, not like a puppy. Jesus, not the time to compare a human baby to a puppy.

“Okay, let’s think calmly,” Kara whispers to herself, collecting her scrambled thoughts. “There’s a tree next to me—“ and she looks up to that, only then noticing that there is, indeed, a tree next to her. “Yes. Ruby is there. Most probably. Yes.”

So, she drops everything and begins the easy treck around the tree, and as expected, Ruby is indeed there — on her tiny feet, hands propped on someone’s knees, and honestly, she should be worried because she hasn’t seen her stand on her feet for more than two seconds without Alex or Sam around. What if the baby decides she’s done showcasing her ability to stand and just sits there and tips on one side because of uneven roots and ends up hitting her head on a root?

_Oh, God, no. Don’t think of horrible thoughts. No horrible thoughts._

“Ruby!” Taken over with relief, she rushes to her niece’s side just when she started carelessly dropping back down on her little butt and scoops her up to her arms, pressing the baby against her chest tightly.

Okay, the mutant baby is safe. Lesser chances of Alex or Sam cooking her alive. She’s got another day to live tomorrow. She can meet Lady for their discussion on how to meet Lena—

“You’ve got quite a strong, little girl there,” a voice interrupts, and Kara can’t help but laugh and agree. “Just went up to me and used me to stand. She seemed very proud of herself.”

Kara laughs again and looks down at her niece briefly, before looking up to thank the stranger who sort of found her niece for her—

— only to gape at the person standing before her.

Standing before her is Lena Luthor, holding a cup of coffee and grinning at her, in all her white shirt and pressed pants glory.

She continues gaping at her, because holy shit, the woman she’s trying to date is right there, standing in front of her, with no _unfamiliar_ woman standing right next to her. She’s standing right there and she’s just staring at her like a freaking fish out of the sea.

She should talk because that’s what humans do. _Talk_ , not open and close their mouths like a fish.

“I-uh,” Kara chuckles like an idiot, rocking her niece for no reason at all. “She’s not actually mine.”

Lena blinks and starts talking, but Kara realizes her mistake and shakes her head.

“I mean! She’s mine, like, _mine – she’s with me_ , but she’s not _my_ daughter,” Kara clears her throat. “Is what I mean…”

Lena doesn’t look so convinced. “I’m not quite sure…”

“No! I swear, she’s with me. Look,” Kara turns to Ruby, shaking her slightly to get her attention. “Ruby, you wanna show me your beautiful eyes?”

On cue, Ruby leans back to look at her and starts fluttering her eyelashes, lips stretching to an adorable, toothless smile, because she knows that an extra smile earns her a kiss on the cheek – which Kara promptly gives to her because, even without the beautiful eyes, Kara’s bound to give cheek kisses just because she loves her niece so much.

“You could have learned that from the time you’ve been with the child.”

Well, that’s offensive.

“Are you insinuating that I kidnapped my own niece?” Kara asks with all the indignance of a twenty-six-year-old woman. “How dare—oh.”

Lena Luthor is smiling.

She’s definitely messing with Kara.

“You’re just messing with me,” Kara intelligently notes.

Lena grins a little wider and shrugs. “Can’t help it. It was quite an adorable sight.”

Kara narrows her eyes. “...I’m sure Ruby was.”

Silence falls upon them like a soft, fluttering blanket --- similar to when a blanket fort you built eventually gives up on acting as a sturdy house. It’s soft, it’s slowly, it’s nothing alarming, but the feeling of frustration and disappointment is there because — well, Kara feels all of that.

She can’t believe she’s actually talking to Lena Luthor right now. Her assignment is right there, standing before her, _presented_ itself to her with no preamble. Hell, she thought she’ll have to write up an official document and ask for an appointment with Lena Luthor, use an exclusive interview as her way to get in, but no. She meets Lena Luthor because her niece is a super crawling alien and now, there’s the opportunity standing right there, still holding her cup of coffee, sipping on it casually while she’s looking around – most probably feeling the awkwardness of having to stand and be stared at by a blonde woman carrying a baby.

She should really do something about that.

Shaking her head, Kara swallows and shifts her niece in her arms, feeling her slipping down slowly. “Um, I’m sorry — I just want to thank you for finding my niece. My sister would have thrown me to the moon if I ever lost Ruby.”

Lena turns back to her and shakes her head, still wearing that little smile. “More like she found me. I was just here, waiting for my friend when she crawled up to me and said some _very_ intelligent things,” Lena turns to her niece, reaching out to poke her side softly, to which the baby reacted with a soft wriggle and giggle. “then proceeded to use me as support. It was amusing to watch her.”

“Yeah, she does have a habit of using people for support,” Kara sighs fondly. “I just wish she doesn’t make it a habit to use _strangers—“_ Lena quirks an eyebrow at that, and Kara tries to explain immediately. “— not that I’m saying that you’re a stranger—I mean, technically, you are, but---“ Kara flails a free hand, sighing in frustration at her own rambling. “Like, you’re not a bad stranger, I mean. I’m glad she found you instead of some other shady person.”

_Can the ground please just open up and swallow me?_

Lena decides to have mercy on her and simply shrugs off Kara’s rumbling. She drinks the last of her coffee with a soft sigh and lowers down her hand behind her back as she turns to Kara with a smile. “I do share the sentiment,” then, she looks down at Ruby and reaches out to poke her chubby cheek. “and I wish I could spend more time with this sweetheart here, but I have to go.” She looks up at Kara with the most pitiful look on her face, as if leaving Ruby is her biggest regret of the century. “It was nice meeting you, Ruby.”

Lena Luthor turns to leave, and Kara blinks because … _what about me?_

But like the everlasting idiot that she is, she just stands there and watches Lena Luthor walk up to the same woman Kara saw in the article a while ago, dressed to the nines and looking like the opposite of the woman that she will ever be.

She seems like the kind of woman Lena Luthor would actually consider dating – not someone like Kara who wears button downs and tight slacks … kind of like what Lena Luthor wears, but who dates someone with the same fashion sense as them?

Kara lets out a forlorn sigh as she hoists  Ruby back up into her arms, realizing that she’s slowly, _very slowly_ , letting go of her niece in her remorse.

“Oh, well,” Kara sighs again, her fingers brushing against Ruby’s partially bald head. “There’s always a next time, right, Ruby?”

Ruby simply babbles in response, lips curling into an adorable smile.

“Or not,” Kara grumbles.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“So, let me get this straight.”

 _Don’t even_.

Kara has already scolded herself enough. She honestly doesn’t need Lady to ask her about her stupidity from earlier this afternoon again and make her think about Lena Luthor in her white shirt and dress pants. She doesn’t want to think about her wasted chance. She doesn’t want to remember Lena’s easy personality and apparent regret over parting ways with Ruby, a baby she’s only met once.

She doesn’t really want to remember how pretty Lena Luthor is in person.

_God, I don’t want to, but I do._

“You had _the_ opportunity to ask her out — _Lena Luthor_ in the freaking flesh — and you just—what?” Lady stops mid-ramble and turns to Kara with the most unbelieving look on her face. “Watched her walk away without even trying?”

Kara sighs heavily. “I was still a little winded from Ruby disappearing on me, okay? I think it’s reasonable to be more worried about my niece than Lena Luthor at that time.”

“Sure,” Lady shrugs. “But you forgot that you’re supposed to date Lena Luthor to get that promotion. Girl, what were you thinking?”

A beat later.

“Clearly, I wasn’t.”

“For once, I actually believe you.”

Kara groans and grabs a pillow beside her, slamming it over her face. Then, like a livid animal, she screams into the innocent cushion whilst shaking relentlessly.

Like a lion feasting on his catch.

“ _Guh..._ ”

Kara halts all actions and sighs heavily as Ruby’s sweet voice takes over the incessant scolding she’s getting from her inner voice inside her head. She drops the pillow on her lap, looks down at her niece as she palms at Lady’s face — who’s somehow ended up on her back for whatever reason ( definitely not Ruby climbing on top of her and wresting her with all of her twenty pounds of cuteness ) — and snorts softly as she sits up to join the two of them on the floor of her room.

She sits on crossed legs next to Lady and grabs Ruby, putting the infant on her lap to give Lady some breathing space. “There will be a next time,” she says, determined. “Fate made us meet once. It will make us meet again, I’m sure.”

Lady rolls her eyes with a snort. “Fate? You believe in Fate?”

“Don’t you?”

Lady shrugs. “I don’t know. I kind of believe in Invictus, you know? Master of my fate; captain of my soul? Things don’t happen unless you _do_ them. You can’t just wait for _fate_ to happen.”

Kara purses her lips, fingers flexing against her niece’s tummy, which elicits a soft giggle from the baby.

“You’re right,” she sighs while smiling back at Ruby’s toothless grin, and then continues with determination clear in her voice. “Tomorrow, I will meet Lena Luthor again.”

. . . A fart.

Lady bursts out in laughter while sitting up, and Kara can’t help but join her.

“All right,” Kara grunts as she gets back on her feet with Ruby in her arms. “Time for a cleanup.”

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

The next day, Kara goes to work like a woman with a mission. Well, practically, she is. Her mission is to meet Lena Luthor again and ask her out on a date.

How she’s going to do that?

She’s not sure.

Maybe schedule an interview with her under Snapper’s name? Go to L-Corp and just--- march up to her office and demand for Lena Luthor to meet her?

Right. That would definitely not have her end up in a prison cell — or Lena Luthor’s dungeon. If she has one.

Does she have one?

She’ll have to research on that.

When she gets to her cubicle, she puts all her things to the side and plops down on her chair, fingers poised on the keyboard, ready to type away.

The screen remains black.

 Right. She has to turn on her computer.

Once it boots, Kara breathes out heavily and starts typing.

**Mission one: get Lena to meet me again.**

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

 

Six hours later, Kara hasn’t gotten any closer to achieving her first mission. Instead, she’s in line for another cup of coffee at Noonan’s, looking every inch like a woman drained out of all of her life source.

And she definitely feels like it.

Turns out that trying to meet Lena Luthor in the most formal way requires a scary phone call with an assistant who can match Lady’s feisty attitude.

_“Where’s the formal letter from CATCO’s chairperson?”_

_“I—well,”_

_“None? Well, then. Have a good day.”_

To that assistant’s defense, not that she needs one, Kara did dive into that without thinking first and thinking of it now, it’s definitely embarrassing: what she did.

Kara sighs for the umpteenth time that day as she reaches the counter and gives her order. It’ll only take about two minutes to prepare her coffee — she isn’t a very picky drinker after all, just add three cubes of sugar and a bunch of milk and she’s good to go. Maybe she should brainstorm while waiting.

If asking for an appointment without Snapper’s help won’t accelerate her case, the only other way she thinks she can meet Lena is by accident --- again.

How, though?

It’s almost impossible to meet Lena Luthor by accident on an ordinary day. Maybe yesterday was a special case. Maybe the woman dressed to the nines was visiting that’s why Lena Luthor was seen outside of her office.

Maybe she should find that woman instead.

_Maybe she can convince her to bring Lena Luthor to the park again and—_

“Keiran’s usual, please. Thank you.”

Kara blinks. She knows that voice.

Turning so abrupt, she thinks she might have given herself a whiplash, Kara gapes at the woman standing next to her and blinks rapidly.

 _Lena Luthor_.

“I—” she starts, then stops to collect herself, straightening up and brushing her hands down her shirt. “This Keiran person must be _something_. This is the second time I’ve encountered someone taking Keiran’s order for him.”

Lena turns to her and grins in acknowledgment, clearly recognizing her. “Well,” she drawls, a playful glint in her eyes. “Keiran _is_ definitely something, but not a _he_.”

“Oh,” Kara chuckles nervously. “Sorry. My mistake. I just—well, the name sounded masculine and--- yeah, no, I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“You’re all right, darling. You’re not the first to say that, honestly.” Lena just laughs quietly at Kara distress, which most people might find insulting, but Lena Luthor looks so pretty in her impeccable outfit and her lips — wow, so red and brilliant and soft-looking and—

Kara shakes her head, cheeks burning when she notices the knowing look in Lena’s eyes as if the latter knows just what was going on inside Kara’s head.

_And that’s totally embarrassing._

“Order for Kara?” The attendant calls out and Kara groans inwardly at being interrupted once again.

“That’s me,” she calls out forlornly, a slight wince on her face. She’s every bit tempted to turn to Lena and beg through her eyes – let her know that she’s trying to date her — which, you know, a bad idea, but _god,_ it’s six days (or is it five?) before her birthday and she hasn’t gotten around asking Lena Luthor out.

She really needs to do something about that. She needs to start something. She needs to _at least_ get her number.

Filled with a new sense of determination, Kara pays and tells the attendant to keep the change, before turning around to face Lena Luthor once more, ready to just – be a bold girl scout and ask for the beautiful girl’s number—

But then, she turns and Lena Luthor isn’t there anymore.

Her shoulders slump and she breathes out in defeat.

“Where...” she whispers and then groans while slapping a palm against her forehead. “Darn it.”

“Miss Kara?”

Kara sighs and turns back to the attendant. “Yes?” Did she forget her order? She wouldn’t be surprised if she did. The last thing she remembers is paying and trying to ask Lena Luthor, but then she isn’t there. But then she’s holding something in her left hand, so that shouldn’t be it.

 _Why am I so lucky?_ _And how the hell did she disappear so quickly, anyway?_

“This was left for you,” the attendant says kindly with a smile as she hands over a cup of coffee, then turns back to her work.

Kara blinks down at the extra cup of coffee now placed in her hand, head tilting slightly to the side. It’s only then that she notices some writings on the paper handle of the cup. Carefully, she places the cup on the counter and removes her fingers, revealing letters and numbers written in loopy lines.

_The universe must be telling us something if it brought us together again in a span of, more or less, twenty-four hours. Call me. x L.L_

Kara gapes at the cup.

“Holy shit!”

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always welcome! <3


End file.
